Daily Recap — April 26

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.”

— Edgar Allen Poe

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THE TANGLED WEB OF LEAKIN’ JAMES

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It gets more elaborate with each passing day.

Now we learn that the professor who helped Comey leak memos supposedly detailing his conversations with PDT to the media has confirmed he was a “special government employee.”

“I did indeed have SGE status with the Bureau (for no pay),” confirmed Daniel Richman, Comey’s special Columbia law professor buddy.

Leakin’ James apparently tasked Richman with “special projects,” and he had security clearance and access to the building. Additionally, Richman was provided friggin talking points detailing how the bureau was managing the investigation into Hillzdawg’s emails.

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As always, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is the one doing the digging. He noted in a recent interview that details about Richman’s special FBI status initially were raised at a testimony before the House Oversight and Judiciary panels with Comey’s former chief of staff, James Rybicki.

“During that deposition, it was brought out that Daniel Richman, the guy who information was leaked through to the [failing] New York Times, had this special status called special government employee status, where he could sort of come and go in the FBI,” Jordan said, adding, “it seems kind of interesting that the guy who Comey leaks to is a good friend, who had this sort of unfettered access into the FBI.”

Yes, it is. Very interesting. The mind begs to know just what these “special projects” consisted of.

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We found out last week that the Justice Department’s inspector general, Mike Horowitz, is conducting an investigation into whether Comey leaked classified information when he shared not one, but several memos with Richman. Redacted versions of the memos were released last week after the DOJ sent them to Congress.

As with many things, it will be a short while before we know the ultimate findings of that probe, though I have a feeling it ties in with many other things that are being investigated at the moment. I wouldn’t get too froggy. Sit back and let things take their course.

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BIG PICTURE:

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It seems rather obvious to me that the “special projects” overseen by Richman likely dealt with leaking information in order to help Leakin’ James push narratives.

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Why in blue Hell does this law professor require a top-secret clearance in the FBI? What cases is he working to solve? If he’s not acting as legal counsel, what justification could be given for his “special status?” Why would he ever be involved with the Hillzdawg email probe in any form or fashion?

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Mark my words, folks. We’re going to be hearing more about Mr. Richman. He may have been Comey’s wingman for preserving the reputation of the FBI, but brace for the irony train because he’s going to end up harming it #BigLeague.

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It may take a damn decade to get to the bottom of everything these scoundrels were/are up to.

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JACKSON OFFICIALLY OUT

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I really didn’t want to be right about this.

Today Dr. Jackson, a rear friggin admiral and veteran battlefield surgeon in the U.S. Navy, withdrew from consideration to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. His withdrawal was brought on by the shameless and disgusting hatchet job executed by Montana Senator Jon Tester, who used a collection of unsourced and unverified claims to destroy not only the nomination, but career and reputation of a man who served his country honorably for decades.

Those of you with common decency might think that, surely, a public official with the responsibilities of Sen. Tester would not publicize such attacks without first making a good-faith effort to verify them. But as you’ll see from the transcript below, common decency is a completely alien concept to Tester. This was taken from his exchange with Anderson Cooper on Fake News CNN this past Tuesday night:

TESTER: This doctor has a problem because he hands out prescriptions like candy. In fact, in the White House, they called him the candy man… That’s not a nickname you want in a doctor. And if you consider the prescription drugs we have a problem with in this country right now, it’s the example we need to have set.

COOPER: The second allegation is that Dr. Jackson was repeatedly drunk on duty while overseas with the president. Under which administration did this happen?

TESTER: It was the previous administration. It was the Obama administration. And the truth is, is that Admiral Jackson was the primary health care provider for the president.

And if you’re drunk and something happens with the president, it’s very difficult to go in and treat the president… So, this is totally unacceptable under this environment. And that’s what multiple people told us this was the case on several different trips.

COOPER: Do you know under what circumstances he was drinking? Social occasions?

TESTER: I believe they were social. You know, there were comments about him being in the hotel room and couldn’t respond because he had been drinking so much.

In the midst of trashing Jackson, Tester suddenly decided that it might be prudent to actually substantiate his claims. But not before he drags Jackson’s good name through the mud, of course:

Our vetting is not through yet. We still have more information to gather. But if this turns out to be solidly factual, then we’ve got a big, big problem with Admiral Jackson.

Silly naive me for expecting a senator to avoid going on television and accusing people of being drunken drug peddlers without knowing if the allegations are true. On Wednesday Mr. Tester retweeted news from another of his media appearances. He told MSNBC that “we’re following up talking to some 23 different people.” That must have been very gratifying to Dr. Jackson to know that having assaulted his reputation, the politician was now ”following up” to see if the claims had any merit.

Of course no one at Fake News CNN bothered to ask Tester why numerous, rigorous background checks over the years never discovered these issues with Jackson, or how Jackson managed to get so many glowing evaluations not only from immediate superiors but presidents of both parties.

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The shamelessness of D.C. politicians is a secret to no one except the cognitively dissonant lawmakers themselves, who with the help of a lapdog media echo chamber have convinced themselves that any work done to combat Trump is manifestly righteous.

It’s a sick strain of Trump Derangement Syndrome that threatens to rip what little fabric of our country is left.

The abject spinelessness on display from the GOP during this episode is as disgusting as the character assassination itself.

Edmund Burke said, “The only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing.”

I’d say the GOP fit that bill, if only I could call them the good guys.

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KEEBLER COMING ALIVE?

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It looks like those tongue-lashings from PDT are starting to bear fruit.

Keebler Jeff Sessions said today that the ongoing #PutinGate probe into PDT “needs to conclude” in order to let him focus on North Korea, the U.S.-Mexico border and other THINGS THAT ARE ACTUALLY FRIGGIN IMPORTANT TO OUR COUNTRY.

Keebler also said he expects IG Horowitz to finish his investigation into the DOJ’s and FBI’s handling of investigations into Hillary during the 2016 election in a “few weeks,” saying that will provide more information for decisions on whether there was wrongdoing.

Ohhhhh snap. That statement makes me feel like I’ve been right about him the whole time. Don’t let me down, Keebler.

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Testifying to the House today, Sessions was pressed by West Virginia Rep. Earl Jenkins (R), who said he saw a “double standard” in comparing the ongoing King Bob probe into Trump, while Sessions has declined to name a second special counsel to review the way the department and the FBI handled the Clinton case. Then again, the Near-Sighted Mr. Magoo noticed that double standard a long time ago.

“At the very root of this, I think my constituents are frustrated, are angry, they see a double standard historically. They want justice,” said Jenkins, ticking off all the same red flags we and the rest of Trump nation have been screaming about for the last 2 years. He (rightly) said all these shady doings demand the heightened powers a special counsel should look at.

That’s when Keebler got a little dodgy.

Sessions said he didn’t want to appoint special counsels “willy-nilly” but said his department is taking deliberate steps. He’s named a U.S. attorney to oversee an investigation and coordinate with the inspector general whose probe has been ongoing for months.

He also said they’re sharing an unprecedented amount of information with GOP-led congressional committees who are probing the same matters.

“If there’s wrongdoing we’re going to take action about it,” he said, adding that he knows the president is “concerned” about the ongoing special counsel investigation into his inner circle, and that it needs to end so the president can deal with the job of running the executive branch.

“He’s dealing with France and North Korea and Syria and taxes and regulations and border and crime every day,” Sessions said. “This thing needs to conclude. So I understand his frustrations and I understand the American people’s frustrations.

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This is one of those times where I’d strangle Sessions if he were within arm’s length.

What is “unprecedented” is the amount of information being WITHHELD from the committees.

And when a Justice Department stonewalls information at every turn from the rightful, lawful and constitutionally mandated oversight of our elected representatives after running arguably the biggest sham investigation in FBI history (the Hillzdawg email probe), wherein evidence was allowed to be destroyed, key witnesses were given immunity for nothing in return and no grand jury was even impaneled, IT’S NOT A “WILLY-NILLY” SPECIAL COUNSEL. IT’S THE ****ING LEAST YOU CAN DO.

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Now, I’ll reiterate — I do believe there is more than meets the eye with Sessions. I believe there is a lot more investigating and maneuvering going on behind the scenes than he is comfortable disclosing. Or perhaps not at liberty to.

I keep patience for Sessions because I’m almost positive that PDT is making moves that we won’t know until the time is right, and that Sessions is aware of many or all of them. I also believe that many or all of their public feuds are theater meant to create a narrative of hostility and throw the dogs off their scent.

I’ve explained my reasoning myriad times. To summarize, if you think PDT is sitting back hoping everything goes ok rather than taking proactive measures, you don’t have a very good understanding of how he operates. I don’t mean that as an insult, just matter of fact.

But none of that keeps me from throwing things when I see Sessions on national television minimizing the corruption that has happened within the DOJ and FBI over the last few years, not to mention the corruption happening under his nose this very moment.

But hey, at least he’s publicly telling Mueller to wrap up the witch hunt.

Don’t make me regret defending you, Keebler. If Trump weren’t POTUS, I would have lost faith in you long ago.

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POMPEO OFFICIALLY THE MAN

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I’m happy to be right about this one.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has (finally) been confirmed by the Senate and quickly sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

“I’m delighted to be secretary of state and completely humbled by the responsibility. I’m looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away,” Pompeo said at his ceremony.

And folks, when he said “get to work right away,” he wasn’t kidding.

Within hours after his swearing-in, he was off on his first trip as secretary of state to Brussels, Riyadh, Jerusalem and Amman this afternoon. He literally had his plane warmed up and waiting to take off as soon as his swearing-in was complete. No wonder PDT likes this guys so much. They seem to have a lot in common.

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State Dept. spokeswoman and goddess Heather Nauert said in a statement that Pompeo would be participating in the NATO Foreign Ministerial meeting. Tell those bums to pay their defense bills, Mike. They’ve picked up the pace lately but it’s still not meeting their obligations.

In the Middle East, he’ll be meeting with leaders to talk about regional and bilateral issues. You can bet that he’ll be discussing the future with the pro-West Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman, especially as it relates to our buddies in Iran.

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The Senate confirmed Pompeo by a 57-42 vote, one short of the best case scenario I outlined in last night’s analysis.

His approval was all but certain after folks like Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-WV), and mini-Senator Rand Paul flipped and announced they’d be voting for him. The haters picked a good time to stop with their silly nonsense, as the Trump administration is finalizing details for a possible meeting with Rocket Man in a month or so.

Because, as I always tell anyone who will listen, PDT IS ALWAYS DOING THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES Pompeo has already met with Lil Kim, laying some of the groundwork for the summit. There is no indication that Pompeo will relinquish that role in the U.S.-North Korea talks, and every American should thank God for that fact. It’s hard to imagine someone I’d rather have dealing with a situation such as this.

Earlier today, the White House released photos of Pompeo shaking the hand of a much shorter and fatter Rocket Man:

Pompeo with Lil Rocket Man earlier this month. Note that even with tall hair and platform shoes, Kim is still about a foot shorter. Sad!

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Pompeo’s confirmation also comes at a crucial time for decisions about the Iran deal. The next deadline for certifying to Congress whether Iran is in compliance is May 12, and French President Emerald Macaroni told reporters last night his efforts as a “Trump whisperer” have been unsuccessful, meaning PDT will pull out of the deal.

As it stands now, the only way we’ll stay in that deal is if terms are renegotiated #BigLeague. The sunset provision on nuclear development will have to go and new restrictions on ballistic missiles will have to be put in place for us to even show up at the table.

Pompeo is a smart, tough and capable secretary of state and we’re very fortunate to have him. These are dangerous times and he’s the right man for the job.

Good pick, PDT. And best of luck, Mr. Pompeo. Your country needs you.

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JOBS JOBS JOBS

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Whaddayasay we end this bad boy with some good news?

Forty-eight years. That’s a pretty long time. And that’s the last time the number of job layoffs were this low. If Barry had accomplished this, the only debate Fake news CNN would be having is whether he should go on Mt. Rushmore or be given his own mountain for a full body sculpture.

The rate of layoffs in the U.S. fell in late April to the lowest level since 1969, yet another sign of a roaring labor market that shows no sign of cooling off.

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Initial jobless claims fell by 24,000 to 209,000 in the week ended April 21, the gubmint reported today. Economists had forecast a 230,000 reading. The gubmint also reported that the more stable monthly average of claims declined by 2,250 to 229,250.

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The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, dropped by 29,000 to 1.84 million.

The only bad news in this month’s jobs report is that new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods fell in March, weighed down by the biggest decline in demand for machinery in nearly two years, and a drop in shipments cemented expectations that business spending on equipment slowed in the first quarter.

Last month, orders for machinery fell 1.7%, the biggest decline since April 2016, after a gain of 0.3% in February. There were, however, increases in orders of primary metals, computers and electronic products, fabricated metals and electrical equipment, appliances and components.

Overall orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more, increased 2.6% in March as demand for transportation equipment rose 7.6%. That followed a 3.5% surge in durable goods orders in February.

For those of you whose eyes started bleeding several paragraphs ago, I’m saying that while machinery orders are down, there are other products who are experiencing a surge in orders. So even the bad news is tinged with good news.

Now that’s a Trump economy.

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BIG PICTURE:

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Excellent. Most workers who want a job can find one and companies are still hiring at a rapid pace. Wages are also rising, though not as fast as they normally do when the labor market is this strong.

The strength of the labor market all but assures the nearly nine-year-old economic expansion will continue for some time to come and perhaps set a record.

That’s bad news for the Dims in the midterms.

Please, Mr. President, capitalize on this good economy. It’s such a massive advantage in politics.

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There it is, Trumpers. Another recap week in the books. Thank you for doing me the honor of reading my work. As always, I’m profoundly grateful.

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